Questionable Cervical Cells

My girlfriend, age 23, has had this issue before and has had then scraped-off/removed. Now she has another questionable "spot" detected by her recent pap smear and she was suggested to go back to her OB/GYN for a closer look. I asked her when is she going to go, and she said it's not one of her priorities right now and she really doesn't feel like facing it. She's a really smart girl and she knows that waiting longer could be more harmful. And I asked her if she has HPV and she answered "ummmmm...no" as if that weren't the issue.

My question is this: Actually how common are these alerts among young women? I'm looking for answers from the female OT body here.

i've had some abnormal cell problems with my cervix leading to several colposcopy's, biopsy's and two leep treatments. if her problem turns severe just be there for her. also, if she's a smoker you might want to help her quit since smoking is usually related to the degree of severity. if she has to have a leep treatment that can be very painful for her, so comfort is a HUGE plus around that time!

The #1 cause of a real ASCUS pap result is HPV. The doctor should be able to do an HPV test off of the sample they already took. She should also go back for a second pap in six months. If the pap results were more serious than ASCUS, she really needs to go back to the doctor. The next teir of results are definately pre-cancerous cells.

I should also add that any odd cells trigger an ASCUS result. A little tampon debris, a little sperm, a little powder, a little lotion - anything that gets on the slide that is not normal cervical tissue will show up on the test. There are probably just as many false alarms at the ASCUS level because of odd debris, so it could really be nothing at all.

Okay guys, look at the date I started this thread--April 2004. Anyway, she has since not gone back to a gynecologist, but I will have to get on her about going back. She was living in Colorado at the time, and now lives here in Pennsylvania with me.

I have had problems with that since I was 16. They found that I had severe displaysia, and I have had to have paps every 6 months. I even had to go through the colposcopy (biopsy) part just to make sure. It's pretty scary to hear something like that, but I think as long as she keeps on top of it, things should be OK.
I know just by going to the Dr. like I was supposed to made me feel more easy! Best of luck...